Here
it is - the first all-Sega edition of MEAN MACHINES. And what a whopper it is
too! All of 148 pages - miles bigger than the sad, thin pamphlets that purport
to be our competitors. We're a bit pricey this month, but I think it's worth
it. Where else can you get a WORLD EXCLUSIVE video complete with full Sonic the
Hedgehog II preview - plus all the others - for only a couple of quid. You
can't see Sonic II anywhere else except here!

If
you also own a Nintendo, or have a mate who owns a Nintendo, don't forget about
what's happened to the Nintendo half of MEAN MACHINES. It has become NINTENDO
MAGAZINE SYSTEM. A brilliant all-Nintendo magazine which has now been on sale
for a week or so. Make sure that no Nintendo owners miss it.

So
what's going to be coming up? Well, we've got some incredible gifts lined up
and some really special things in the pipeline for Christmas. And I promise
that we'll continue to be by far the biggest and best Sega magazine available.
So keep watching this space...

After
selling more Megadrive cartridges than any other in the history of the machine,
Sonic the Hedgehog is back! Yes, once again, the megalomaniac, Doctor Robotnik
is planning to take over the entire world, and only a certain blue, spiky
hedgehog character (and his cute little chum) stand in the way!

At
first glance, Sonic the Hedgehog II looks and plays extremely similarly to the
original game. Of course, it is a platform game and the control method for
Sonic seems almost unchanged from the original. The aim of each level is still to
collect rings and make your way towards the exit, jumping over or squashing any
of Robotnik's minions. A lot of these enemy sprites too seem to be almost
unchanged from the original game.

However,
Sega's aim in creating Sonic II is a case of attempting to improve on the
original by cramming in new features, new levels, more speed (believe it or
not!) and more gameplay. The Sonic Team, responsible for this and the original
game, also reckon they have cracked the problem of the game being too easy.

From
what we've seen, Sonic II looks like being the hottest Megadrive release this
year with some of the most amazing graphics ever seen on the console! Look out
for the definitive Sonic II review, gracing the pages of next month's MEAN
MACHINES SEGA!

INTRODUCING...TAILS!

Sonic
II introduces a new chum for Sonic to muck around with. Tails is his name and
he's a kind of fox-like creatures with two tails! Sonic the Hedgehog II is a
one or two-player game. In two-player mode, the screen splits into two and one
player adopts the mantle of Tails while the other takes Sonic for a spin. Tails
makes an appearance in one-player mode as well. At the moment, Sega Europe
aren't sure whether Tails is under player control or whether he leads a life of
his own. At the moment, he's capable of stealing rings from you, making him as
much of a pain as a useful companion!

TWO-PLAYER REVELATIONS

Setting
it apart completely from the Super NES's Super Mario Bros IV, Sonic II offers
split-screen two-player excitement.The
normal Megadrive screen height is 224 lines of pixels. In two-player mode, the
screen is expanded vertically to accommodate 448 lines (in essence, two
screens). This means that no detail is lost at all. However, technically
amazing as it may be, it looks kind of odd. Each of the screens look very
squashed because no similar compaction is taking place horizontally. The
current version of Sonic II only has a demo running of this particular section,
so we can't comment on the gameplay. Let's hope that Tails and Sonic are
actually able to interact with each other to solve puzzles and defeat the
bosses!

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG SUPER-SPIN!

A
new move has been added to Sonic's speedy repertoire. Pressing down and
pressing the spin button causes Sonic to "rev-up"! Let go of the
button and he zooms away at top speed, allowing him to get past some of the
trickier hazards. Hurrah!

MEGA CD SONIC UPDATE

Sonic
II is heading for the Mega CD in the form of an enhanced version called Super
Sonic. The game crams in everything found in the cartridge game, but includes
CD-quality soundtracks and some extra features. These "extra
features" may include some of the levels that may have to be left out of
the cartridge version! Sega don't plan to include this game as part of a bundle
package with the Mega CD. One of their ideas is to include a demo CD with the
hardware that features playable demos of forthcoming Mega CD games - including
Super Sonic! The Mega CD itself is still penciled in for a November release.
When we learn more, we'll pass it on to you.

LOOK
OUT FOR STUNNING MEGADRIVE REVIEWS INCLUDING SONIC THE HEDGEHOG II, JAMES BOND
007: THE DUEL, SUPER HIGH IMPACT AND SIDE POCKET! MASTER SYSTEM OWNERS WILL SEE
THE LONG-AWAITED CONVERSION OF PIT-FIGHTER FOR THEIR MACHINE!

PLUS
ALL YOUR FAVORITE REGULARS, INCLUDING THE HOTTEST NEWS, Q+A, AND OF COURSE THE MEAN
YOB! COSMIC EH?

WELL
JUST WAIT TO SEE THE AMAZING COVER-MOUNTED GIFT WE'VE GOT LINED UP FOR YOU NEXT
MONTH! JUST HOW WILL WE BEAT THE UNBEATABLE SONIC II VIDEO?

Here's a shot straight from level
one of Sonic the Hedgehog II. The twisting platform is one of the many
additions that have made it into the sequel. Plenty more await, but you're
gonna have to wait until we review it to find out more (or check out the mega